The report said the cut is due to the excess level of inventories of the latest iPhone models, which in part was due to the higher exchange rate that made iPhones more expensive in emerging countries.

It added the iPhone production level is expected to get back to normal levels in the April to June quarter, citing foreign suppliers.

Nikkei's report is the latest in a series of gloomy projections that predicted a drop in iPhone sales in the coming months. Last month, a number of Wall Street analysts forecast that iPhone sales will drop for the first time ever, citing a decline in sales by some of the major iPhone component makers.

Gene Munster of PiperJaffray wrote in a note Tuesday that investor concerns of an iPhone sales drop is growing, with some thinking sales for the March quarter could be as low as 50 million units, way below the 58.5 million estimate.

But Munster added that suppliers and production cuts have historically had little correlation to actual reported units, and that Apple's own December guidance is still the best read on overall iPhone sales. Apple CEO Tim Cook said that iPhones would grow year-over-year, according to the note, and Apple hasn't missed a guide in nearly three years.

"Overall, this data point, albeit old, lends us confidence that March may not be as bad as expected assuming that if iPhone demand is up slightly in December and the overall smartphone market is stable with a large upgrade base of existing iPhone users, we would expect narrower change in the December and March growth rates," Munster wrote.